Man City boss Eriksson delighted with Samaras attitude

"To be fair, he could have gone if he had wanted, but he came to me and said 'I want to stay here and I want to fight.' I'm very happy that he did that because he came on very well again on Saturday (against Birmingham)," Eriksson told City's website.

"He's a fantastic boy, professional, works hard and is always open to discuss things. He has an opinion about his football and that is very good."

And with age on his side, Samaras can continue to learn and work on his game, something Eriksson outlined: "Of course, he can learn a lot. I think he needs to decide what type of player he wants to be because I don't think he's one that does a lot of tricks.

"He should use his physical power, he's an extremely good header and if he uses his body, the defenders will feel that. I see him as a central striker and a good one as well."